Roller skis



Jan. 23, 1968 D. E. BLANCHARD 3,365,208

ROLLER SKIS Filed Feb. 2, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

v DUANE E BLANCH/4P0 WWw/fl A T TOPNE Y5 w 1963 D. E. BLANCHARD3,365,208

' ROLLER sxis Filed Feb. 2, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I /0 2,520 f z /4 [.31 5 INVENTOR.

DUANE E. BLANCH/4P0 FIG. 4 d

ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,365,208 ROLLER SKIS Duane E. Blanchard,6620 Naomi Drive, Edina, Minn. 55424 Filed Feb. 2, 1966, Ser. No.524,643 6 Claims. (Cl. 28011.23)

ABSTRACT OF THE DTSCLOSURE A pair of frames each having two wheelsmounted thereon in tandem adapted for skiing on turf covered slopes andhaving specific dimensions and weight, dictated by the size of the user,to provide the skis with a high degree of maneuverability similar toskis utilized on snow.

This invention pertains to highly maneuverable apparatus for skiing onslopes covered with turf and the like and more particularly to a pair ofskis having tandem wheels thereon which are particularly suited toperforming on turf all of the maneuvers performed on snow skis and in asimilar manner.

Until the present time the sport of skiing has been confined to slopescovered with snow or some similar material, such as light sand or thelike. A large number of tandem roller skates and the like have beenconstructed but all of these devices are designed for simply coastingdown small slopes and, in general, these devices are all limited to hardpacked surfaces, such as concrete or the like. None of these devices canbe utilized to perform the intricate maneuvers now considered part ofthe sport of skiing on snow. In one device, which might be consideredprior art, snow skis are provided with openings therein for mountingwheels at the rear end and in the midsection so the ski might be used inthe summer time on dry and hard smooth surfaces. However, this device isagain designed so that it is impossible to perform the many skiingmaneuvers now accomplished in the snow skiing sport.

In the present invention a pair of elongated base members or frames areprovided having a front and rear wheel rotatably attached thereto intandem. A platform is fixedly attached to each of the frames and a bootclamping device, such as the modern snow ski safety binding, is mountedon each of the platforms for clamping a skiers foot thereto. It wasdiscovered after much experimentation and effort that apparatusconstructed according to the above description and with certain othercharacteristics, to be described presently, can be used by skiers onslopes covered with turf or the like. The apparatus of the presentinvention can be utilized to perform substantially all of the maneuversof snow skiing and might be utilized on the same slopes in the summertime.

It is an object of the present invention to provide new and improvedapparatus for skiing on slopes covered with turf or the like.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide apparatuswhich is highly manuverable and may be utilized on slopes covered withturf or the like in a manner similar to snow skis.

These and other objects of this invention will become apparent to thoseskilled in the art upon consideration 3,365,298 Patented Jan. 23, 1968of the accompanying specification, claims and drawings.

Referring to the drawings, wherein like characters indicate like partsthroughout the figures:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of the present apparatus fixedlyattached to a skiers feet;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view of a single ski, some parts thereofbroken away and some parts shown in section;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the ski illustrated in FIG. 2, parts thereofremoved;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view as seen from the line 4-4 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view as seen from the line 55 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a top view of a single ski illustrating the approximaterelationship of all the parts; and

FIG. 7 is a side view of the ski illustrated in FIG. 6.

In the figures the numeral 10 generally designates a pair of skis, whichalthough not coming within the normal definition of skis will bereferred to as such because they are used in a substantially similarmanner, although in a different environment. Each ski 10 has anelongated base member, which includes a pair of parallel spaced apartbraces 11. Each brace 11 of the base member has a hole formed adjacenteither end and the two braces 11 are joined together by a front axle 12and a rear axle 13. In this embodiment the axles 12 and 13 are fixedlyengaged in the holes of the braces 11 by means of set screws 14, whichare threadedly engaged in the braces 11 and butt against the axles 12and 13 to maintain them immovable. The axles 12 and 13 are parallel andspaced apart a distance dependent upon the size of the foot of theskier. The distance between the axles 12 and 13 is very important andshould be as short as possible for any given size of foot since too longa ski 10 greatly hampers the maneuverability thereof. It has beendetermined that the distance between the axes of the axles 12 and 13must be in the range of one to three feet, with the smaller skis beingutilized by children.

The axles 12 and 13 have a front wheel 15 and a rear wheeel 16 rotatablymounted thereon for operation in tandem. The front wheel 15 has abearing 21 therein and the back wheel 16 has a bearing 22 therein forrotatably mounting the wheels 15 and 16 on the axles 12 and 13,respectively. Each of the axles 12 and 13 have a washer 23concentrically mounted on each side of the wheels 15 and 16 tosubstantially prevent transverse movement and rubbing on the braces 11.The washers 23 are constructed of plastic so they are practically quietduring operation. Each of the wheels 15 and 16 has a solid rubber tire17 and 18, respectively, thereon. It should be understood that the tires17 and 18 need not be constructed of rubber and, in some instances, thewheels and tires may be an integral unit constructed of plastic or thelike. The tires 17 and 18 have a relatively wide, flat turf contactingor running surface 19 and 20 respectively. A wide, fiat surface isrequired so that the tires 17 and 18 do not sink into the relativelysoft surface of the slopes and to aid in the skiing maneuvers. The widthof the turf contacting surfaces 19 and 20 must lie within the range ofapproximately one to two inches to obtain the desired maneuverabilityand speeds. Also, the overall diameter of the front and rear wheels 15and 1-6 must lie in the range of approximately four to eight inches withthe smaller diameters being utilized for childrens skis.

An elongated platform 25 is fixedly attached to each of the braces 11 ofeach of the skis by some means such as screws or the like. The platform25 is set within a groove in the upper edge of each of the braces 11 sothat the upper surface thereof is approximately flush with the remainingupper edge of the braces 11. To obtain the desired maneuverability inthe skis 1d the upper surface of the platform 25 must lie in a planeparallel with a plane containing the axes of the axles 12 and 13 butslightly thereabove. The distance between the plane through the uppersurface of the platform 25 and the plane through the axes of the axles12 and 13 lies within the range between approximately zero to one andone half inches. The width of the platform 25 should be sufficient toaccommodate a human foot thereon without being so wide as to hinderturning movements and the like. A width in the range of from two to fourinches is considered optimum.

The platform 25 has fixedly attached thereto means for clamping a boot,such as a snow ski boot or the like, in releasable engagement with theupper surface of the platform 25. In the present embodiment a snow skisafety binding generally designated 26 is utilized. The safety binding26 consists of a toe holding mechanism 27 and a heel holding mechanism28. The toe holding mechanism 27 is the type which fixedly engages thetoe of a boot and holds it firmly in position until such time as atorque, such as that caused by a fallen skier, turns the mechanism aboutan axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the ski. This turningoperation disengages the toe of the boot and allows the ski to fall freefrom the boot. The heel clamping mechanism 28 is the standard cam actinglatching mechanizm 29 having a spring 30 attached thereto. When the bootis in place in the safety binding 26 the cam acting member 29 is movedto the position illustrated in FIG. 6 and the boot is held fixedly inposition. The ski 10 is then disengaged from the boot when the toe ismoved in either direction causing the toe holding mechanism 27 to rotateor when the cam acting member 29 is disengaged. The snow ski safetybinding 26 is utilized on the skis it) because of the speeds attainedand the various maneuvers performed during operation thereof. In generalany clamping mechanism or bindings may be utilized which firmly clampthe boots to the skis 16 but the device utilized should be one whichrequires, or operates in, the minimum possible length. That is, aspreviously described, the length of the ski 10 between the axes of theaxles 12 and 13 must be maintained at a minimum for propermaneuverability and, therefore, the length of the binding 26 over andabove the boot must maintained at a minimum.

In the present embodiment, for a skier wearing approximately size 10boots, the skis 10 were constructed with the following dimensions. Thedistance between the axes of the axles l2 and 13 is one foot 11 inches.The diameter of the wheels 15 and 16 is six inches with the turfcontacting surfaces 19 and 20 being one and one half inches wide. Thewidth of the platform is two and seven-eighths inches and the distancebetween the plane through the upper surface of the platform 25 and theplane through the axes of the afles 12 and 13 is threefourths inches.Also, the total weight of each ski without the bindings 26 isapproximately four pounds and two ounces. These skis are constructed ofwood with metal wheels having rubber tires thereon and the Weight is atapproximately the upper maximum allowable weight, Which is approximatelyfour and one-half pounds. However, a durable plastic ski, includingplastic wheels, can be constructed and it is expected the weight willapproach two pounds per ski. It should be noted that the weight of theski has been found to be relatively critical to correct operation andtoo heavy a ski cannot be manipulated to perform the various maneuversdesired.

In the operation of the present skis 10 the skier may utilize ordinarysnow ski boots and the bindings 2-6 illustrated in the figures. The skis10 are generally utilized in the position illustrated in FIG. 1 and agood working knowledge of the operation of snow skis will aid theoperator of the present skis 10. As the skier glides down the turfcovered slope various turning maneuvers and the like can be performed ina fashion similar to parallel snow skiing, wherein the skier unweightsthe skis and turns them by picking them slightly off the ground andmoving them to a new position. In a similar fashion the present skis 10can be stopped whenever desired by increasing the sharpness or degree ofthe turn. The dimensions set forth above for the skis 10 are critical tothe correct operation as described and dimensions substantially outsideof the approximate ranges specified will cause the skis 10 to be undulycumbersome and not highly maneuverable as specified.

Thus, highly maneuverable apparatus for skiing on slopes covered withturf and the like have been disclosed which operate in a fashion similarto snow skis. An operator utilizing the present apparatus has thecapabilities of performing substantially all of the maneuvers performedon snow skis including turns, stops, etc. In addition the present skis10 are capable of extremely high speeds and have been clocked in excessof 30' mph.

This invention has been thoroughly tested and found completelysatisfactory for the accomplishment of the above objects. While I haveshown and described a specific embodiment of this invention, furthermodifications and improvements will occur to those skilled in the art. Idesire it to be understood, therefore, that this invention is notlimited to the partciular form shown and I intend in the appended claimsto cover all modifications which do not depart from the spirit and scopeof this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. Highly maneuverable apparatus for skiing on slopes covered with turfand the like comprising:

(a) a pair of elongated base members;

(b) each of said base members having a front and a rear wheel rotatablyattached thereto in tandem, said wheels being further characterized byhaving a relatively large diameter and a wide turf contacting surface;

(c) each of said base members including a platform fixedly attachedthereto, said platforms each having an upper surface lying in a planeabove and substantially parallel with a plane through the axes of theassociated front and rear Wheels and at a height less than the diameterof said wheels;

(d) binding means associated with each of said platforms for receiving ashoe therein and maintaining said shoe fixed relative to said platformduring normal operation; and

(e) each of said base members having a length between said front andrear wheels greater than the length of said shoe in said binding andless than three times the length of said shoe for providing the skiswith a high degree of maneuverability.

2. A highly maneuverable apparatus for skiing on slopes covered withturf and the like substantially as set forth in claim 1 wherein thediameter of the front and rear wheels lies within the range ofapproximately four to eight inches and the width of the turf contactingsurface lies within the range of approximately one to two inches.

3. A highly maneuverable apparatus for skiing on slopes covered withturf and the like substantially as set forth in claim 1 wherein theplane of the upper surfaces is above the plane through the axes of theassociated front and rear wheels a distance within the range ofapproximately zero to one and one half inches.

4. A highly maneuverable apparatus for skiing on slopes covered withturf and the like substantially as set forth in claim 1 wherein thelength of the base members References Cited between the axes of thefront and rear wheels is within UNITED STATES PATENTS the range ofapproximately one to three feet depending upon the size of shoe engagedin the binding means. 2868554 1/1959 Ring 280-1123 X 5, A highlmaneuverable apparatus for skiing on 5 3153543 10/1964 Magyar 280 7'13slopes covered with turf and the like substantially as set FOREIGNPATENTS forth in claim 1 wherein the Weight of the apparatus is belowapproximately nine pounds for a pair of skis.

6. A highly maneuverable apparatus for skiing on slopes covered withturf and the like substantially as set 3372 1896 Great Bntam' forth inclaim 1 having in addition safety release bindings BENJAMIN HERSHPrimary Examiner attached to the upper surfaces for fixedly engaginghuman feet thereon in a releasable position. MILTON SMITH, Exammer-247,346 10/1963 Australia. 622,635 12/1935 Germany.

